G1 Climax Block A Matches:

Doc Gallows (2) def. Tetsuya Naito (10)

In the first huge upset of the night, Doc Gallows pulled off the victory over a red-hot "Los Ingobernables" Naito. It was fine for what it is, a slow and standard affair that continues to highlight his change in attitude despite facing a heel like Gallows. This match served as the "upset" match, which means not only is Naito no longer in the lead, but he is no longer qualified to reach the Finals. Doc was losing his cred due to the losses he incurred in the tournament, so beating Naito only helped improve his standing in the long term.

Rating: 2.5/5

Hiroyoshi Tenzan (2) def. Katsuyori Shibata (8)

Tenzan making Shibata submit via the Anaconda Vice is the second major upset of the night, which means Shibata has no chance as well to make it to the Finals. Tenzan's win was just as much as a welcome sight as Gallows' previous win considering how many matches he lost during the tournament for the current crop of stars. When you consider Tenzan's history in the G1 as a multi-time winner, it's amazing to see the kind of position he is in now as the guy who gives back. So for that, kudos to Tenzan being a trooper.

Shibata will come out of the G1 Climax still a badass, so he is pretty much bulletproof.

Rating: 3/5

Toru Yano (4) def. Kota Ibushi (6)

Considering the situation, this match has no meaning whatsoever, so the outcome will not matter. But a match that lasted less than a minute? Yes, Yano is a thief who will find ways to win. Yes, Ibushi pulled off upsets before. But this was totally unexpected. By the end of the day, it is what it is.

At least Ibushi has a KO-D Tag Team Title match to look forward to in DDT Pro Wrestling against Strong BJ (Daisuke Sekimoto and Yuji Okabayashi) later this month.

Rating: 1/5

AJ Styles (10) def. Bad Luck Fale (10)

Now this is interesting: Fale lying down so Styles can get the easy win? And Fale kicking out at 2, throwing out plans for Styles to reach the Finals? This is certainly the most interesting faction VS faction battle in the entire tournament with this exchange. And with all members of Bullet Club surprised at Fale not going through with the plan, this was the first time since Bullet Club's creation that things did not go as planned. This is certainly an interesting turn of events worth looking into.

Otherwise, it was a David VS Goliath battle all throughout, with Styles getting the win via a pinfall with his feet on the ropes.

Rating: 3/5

Hiroshi Tanahashi (10) def. Togi Makabe (8)

The crowd was 100% for Makabe in a match that saw the brawler and NJPW's resident franchise player in the main event. And much like Tanahashi's encounter with Ishii 2 years ago, he became the heel in lieu of Makabe being the favored winner, a rare case for the popular Ace. Take note though, not full heel, but heel for the sake of being heel.

Again, Makabe demonstrated why he is a true main event player when given the opportunity, and Tanahashi once again excelled in the realm of in-ring psychology, focusing on Makabe's leg and showing off why he is a very good heel under the circumstances.

The match saw Tanahashi capitalize on Makabe's injured leg, and concluded with multiple High Fly Flow's to end the bout. Once again, an excellent match between the two veterans that told a compelling story from start to finish.

As it stands, for Block A, either Tanahashi or Styles will win and will move on to the Finals this Sunday. And on Day 16, we will have a better picture on who will have the best chance on winning Block B. Either way, with Tanahashi or Styles getting the nod for Block A, the finals is now guaranteed to be an exciting one.

But what if their match ends up in a tie? If that is the case, interesting times will be ahead for Block A.

*****

Lance Tan Ong has been a banking guy for the past few years but a wrestling guy for most of his life. And after checking out matches of Mitsuharu Misawa and Shinya Hashimoto at an early age, he's also pretty much a puro guy as well. Currently checking out WWE (mostly NXT), NJPW, DDT, and other promotions that catch and demand attention. He currently handles NJPW news and coverage for Smark Henry.